The present invention relates to an operating apparatus incorporated in an apparatus having single or plural operating means, and specifically relates to an operating apparatus whose position can be changed, being particularly suitable for an electrophotographic copying machine.
In an apparatus providing single or plural operating means, the operability thereof depends largely upon the position at which the operating means is placed. In particular, in an apparatus having plural operating means, such as a copying machine, not only the disposition of the operating apparatus in a copying machine main unit wherein each operating apparatus is disposed in a centralized manner but also disposition in the operating apparatus of the operating switches associated with each operation has a great effect on the operability of the apparatus.
For this reason, operating apparatus is conventionally positioned at the right side of the operating part, and apparatus which are not operated directly, such as display apparatus, alarm apparatus and the like, are positioned at the left side thereof. The operator therefore principally operates the apparatus with the right hand.
However, conventional operating apparatus are fixed to the operating part, therefore having the disadvantage of potentially inconvenient operation, particularly for left-handed operators. When we take into consideration matters such as placing the document, feeding the copy paper and disposing of the paper after copying, even a right-handed operator cannot always easily operate operating apparatus positioned at the right side of the operating part when copying for a long time. In such a situation, the operator is required to move to a position from which he can operate the operating apparatus, thus creating the disadvantage of inconvenient copying work, a disadvantage which is sometimes produced in other apparatus as well.